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America’s Top 25 Denominations… Are they Growing or In Decline?

Orginally published on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 at 8:58 AM
by Todd Rhoades

So... what are the nation's top 25 denominations? And how are they growing or declining? Here's an interesting list that comes from the 2007 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. You can check out to see how many members each denomination has, and whether they experienced growth or decline over the past year. Interesting list...

1. The Catholic Church, 69,135,254 members, reporting an increase of 1.94 percent.

2. The Southern Baptist Convention, 16,270,315 members, reporting a increase of .02 percent.

3. The United Methodist Church, 8,075,010 members, reporting a decrease of 1.36 percent.

4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,690,672 members, reporting an increase of 1.63 percent.

5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no increase or decrease reported.

6. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., 5,000,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,850,776, reporting a decrease of 1.62 percent.

8. National Baptist Convention of America, 3,500,000, no increase or decrease reported.

9. Presbyterian Church (USA), 3,098,842 members, reporting a decrease of 2.84 percent.

10. Assemblies of God, 2,830,861 members, reporting an increase of 1.86 percent.

11. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

12. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

13. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

14. The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), 2,440,864, reporting a decrease or .93 percent.

15. Episcopal Church, 2,247,819, reporting a decrease of 1.59 percent.

16. Churches of Christ, 1,639,495 members, reporting an increase of 9.30 percent (This increase reports the church’s growth since its last reported figures in 1999.)

17. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

18. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.

19. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,440,405 members, reporting an increase of .53 percent.

20. American Baptist Churches in the USA, 1,396,700, reporting a decrease of 1.97 percent.

21. United Church of Christ, 1,224,297, reporting a decrease of 3.28 percent.

22. Baptist Bible Fellowship International, 1,200,000, no increase or decrease reported.

23. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1,071,615 members, no increase or decrease reported.

24. The Orthodox Church in America, 1,064,000 members, reporting an increase of 6.40 percent.

25. Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1,046,006 members, reporting a decrease of 1.56 percent.

The total members reported in the largest 25 communions is 149,222,807, an overall increase of .82 percent.

Source:  CyberBrethren


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  There are 8 Comments:

  • Posted by Kevin Bussey

    Why do they include the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses?

    My denomination had only a .02 % increase that is tragic.

  • Posted by Todd Rhoades

    This list was compiled with the help of the National Council of Churches.  Need I say more?!  smile

    Todd

  • Posted by Brad Raby

    Sometimes statistics are misleading, well many times they are.  Many churches don’t give life long membership out.  For example.  A couple years ago my church seriously examined its membership and eliminated well over 1,000 members giving that hear a -800 in membership statistic.  The church grew, its attendance was higher than ever before, but Joe Smo who is now a member of another church 650 miles away when he moved is no longer on the role. 

    I’m not sure membership is a good measuring stick...active attenders would be a better judge.

  • Posted by Jan

    And I kept wondering who wasn’t willing to tell the truth.

  • Posted by kent

    So how fast did the population grow? If the total church grew at less than 1% and the population grows at what 5%, we just keep fallijng farther behind. Our denomination keeps stats as well. but my tribe has not yet to hit 200,000, so we are not in the list. You have travel a little father down the line to hit us. Did we grow? I am fairly sure we did, but by how much I am not sure.

    I also wonder if membership numbers really have any meaning any longer. I am miore concerned about who shows up rather than how many are on the rolls.

  • Posted by

    These stats personally don’t mean a thing to me… Why? Take our town for example.. One any given Sunday there are peeps from one church joining another church of a different denomination in an effort to make a statement to the former church. Okay… Some times they stay. Most of the time, after a while, they return from which they came.

    As I have stated many times over though.... I’m not huge into promoting “denominations” anyway.

  • Posted by chae s. sone

    A petition to Bishop Jeremiah J. Park to recover misused Church money

    Dear Bishop Jeremiah J. Park:

    Current and earlier events need the attention of your office because they will test the meaning of Christian values and of honor among Koreans.

    Recently, you advocated, “No torture”, and with other religious luminaries you have marched to the United Nations to protest against the torture and abuse of suspected terrorists held at U.S. facilities in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. However, why have you not condemn the torture and abuse of the innocent members within your church?

    Unwittingly it seems to appear the double standard of morality in the episcopacy as you overlooked the torture agony within a Methodist church.

    In any event, the church should not be let alone in a Mafia image under your jurisdiction.

    More specifically, Mr. Steve Park, and other church officers, had deliberately and consistently tortured and abused my family for many years while the church remained silent.  He and his church underlings used the church’s name and trust fund to malign my family and me in order to rid of us from the church. It was to cover up the looting of the church money.

    For instance, for one of the three frivoouls lawsuits, Mr. Park falsely accused my son and me that we planned to kill him, his family, his attorney, and other church members in one of his court depositions:

    12 A “He said watch out, you asshole,
    13 Specifically said you asshole, you watch out, if
    14 You don’t watch your step; I’m going to kill you.
    ...
    5 A “I’m going to kill your whole family.”
    6 Q That’s what Dr. Sone said to you?
    7 A “Yes.”
    P. 62; 9-17, 21-23.
    9 Q You’re claiming that Dr. Sone
    10 threatened to kill you and your whole family?
    11 A “Yes.”

    Furthermore, he substantiated his assertion that more than 10 persons had witnessed our threats to murder.  His witnesses included Reverend Wontae Cha, Y. S. Kim, K. D. Shin, Y. H. Lee, Y. J. Kim, D. J. Chun, Paul Choi, Y. J. Kwon, and I. C. Lee.

    Rev. Cha is a good colleague of yours according to information.

    Because of his false allegations, my son and I were on trial at the New York State Supreme Court in Nassau County.  He used the church’s funds to finance his lawsuit against us.  In his lawsuit, Mr. Park also demanded $4,000,000 in damages, while pushing us into the jail as felons.

    His lawsuit had nothing to do with the church and was simply a personal vendetta against us.  My only offense against Rev. Cha, Mr. Park and others was to strictly observe my fiduciary duty as the chairman of the Board to protect the church’s Building Fund.  Nevertheless, according to the court records, officials from the church hierarchy and Steven Park had deceived the judge as if the case was a church-related during an ex-parte conference.

    Now, Bishop Jeremiah J. Park must be responsible to identify the persons who were at the secretive meeting with the judge.  He must investigate all and any conspiracy against the church and its members.  The bishop’s actions matter much with the prestige of the episcopacy.

    The year 2008 is the 87th anniversary of the Korean United Methoidst Church and Institute.  Bishop Jeremiah J. Park, Reverend Won Tae Cha, Steven Park, Young So Kim and other such characters one day must come to the church and faithfully explain to the worshippers for the justification of the looting for either personal gain or criminal racketeering against the innocent loyal members. 

    The cowardly leadership owes an explanation to the fellow church members about the mismanagement of church finances:  For example, an $180,000 building renovation contract lost for nothing. It only enriched the related parties.  Or, another example when the chairman of the board of trustees embezzled $70,000 he is awarded with church money to pay for his legal fees and for part of his embezzlement. Also his faction paid the fines for the sanctions and the contempt of court with the trust fund although they had to pay. Another irony is Methoidst Mission Fund donated $50,000 to the trust as if an incentive to the looting

    The judge and NYS Attorney General advised to recover the funds from the abusers.  But, why anyone in the church leadership has done anything about these malfeasances?

    Now, the time has come to your office to clarify the ultimate moral issues.  On July 15, 2007, the church decided to hire a certified public accountant (excluding Korean CPA) to audit the church finances starting from year 2000.  The audit is to determine if any fraud has occurred.  But, since then, Reverend Chang, the current pastor, who is a friend of yours according to information, has not yet started it.

    The church must recover the stolen funds from Mr. Park and the embezzlers.  Perhaps, the church may file an insurance claim for the stolen funds so that the insurance company can compensate them.  But, you, the bishop, must enforce church rules and order to help this church recover financially as well as morally.  Otherwise, the church has no standing as “a light house” to the dark world.

    Now, remember that any decent mind cannot allow our historic church to be built on the foundation of the age-old scandals, but on “the rock”.  Most of all, the church should be liberated from evil capitulation still in power. If Mr. Park and others like him have succeeded to scapegoat the church scandals on an innocent family, then they would have said, “Halleluiah!!” The church should be maintained as a house of prayer, but a “den of robbers.” (Matthew 21; 13)

    Without any further delay, you must recognize that the Korean United Methodist Church and Institute has been under the control of the spiritually-dead clergies and criminals who are filled with demons, falsehoods, hatreds, and deception.  It does appear to be a moral crisis of the Korean Church, the NY Annual Conference, and, perhaps, the United Methodist denomination.

    I am praying for your spiritual victory in good faith and for the renewal of our historic church. The Book of Discipline guarantees open meetings and free speech.  Why can’t we have an open debate for the renewal at the church or a public media?  The congregation wants your spiritual leadership as the bishop of the NY Annual Conference as well as the top church leader of the Korean immigrant Christian community.

    Please let me remind your office that it is my duty and mission to continuously protect the church’s common interests, according to the church’s rules and the Christian teachings. That is my only way to seek justice and to restore our family name as I have learned from the church throughout my life.
    Alas! The church is spiritually, morally broken as it is now.

    Sincerely yours in Christ,

    Chae S. Sone and family

    Please forward the e-mail petition to:
    Reverend Jeremiah J. Park, Bishop
    New York Annual Conference
    White Plains, New York
    e-mail address: 

    Reverend Chul Woo Chang
    e-mail address: 

    Forward to our distinctuished spiritual leaders:


    UMC: .
    NCC <[email protected]>

    Grassley, Chuck (R)

    Charles Schumer (D)

    Grassley, Chuck (R)

    Charles Schumer (D)

    Hillary Clinton (D)

    <[email protected]>

    Let us pray for the Bishop to do His will accordingly. Especially it is a wakeup call for Korean Christian community – It is a cyber age.

  • Posted by chae

    The corrective majors are long over due or just ignored by the leaders.

    From:[email protected]
    Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 4:22 PM
    To: ;[email protected].
    Subject: Building Funds Questions – Korean Church

    Dear Bishop:

    This all sounds as though the leadership of our church has handled a “difficult situation” in a poor way. Are these matters of injustice in the claims of those who cry out about the fraudulent use of building funds and trust funds of the Korean Church in New York? Real leaders not only do things right… but in the critical points of decision making...do the right thing. What is the “right thing” in his matter? It is an embarrassment to the whole community of faith.

    Chuck Gummer
    Former District Superintendent
    Former Wyoming Conference Executive
    Wyoming Confeence
    [email protected]

    Original Message-----
    From: Rev. Dr. Alexander Hast [mailto:[email protected]]
    Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 11:48 AM
    To:
    Cc: ;
    Subject: A petition to Bishop Jeremiah J. Park to recover misused Church money

    Dear Brother in Christ Bishop Jeremiah J. Park,
    I have received this petition which is addressed to you and only calls for an investigation and justice. If the accusations are true, the situation deserves a resolution. No one should be victimized - especially not by their own church.  I don’t know the situation, do not know if any of the accusations are remotely true, but have witnessed similar cases. An impartial investigation could bring interesting unknown facts to your attention.
    GOD bless you!
    Rev. Dr. Alexander Hast

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